Bob
I think you will find ANY GM starter will fit ANY GM OHV six engine from at least 1940 until about 1953 when they changed to 12v and 161 teeth. There is nothing special about the ring gear on the 216 and it is the same whether a 6 bolt or a 9 bolt truck flywheel (both 139 teeth). As Dave said the GMC starters had a bit more oomph to cater for the slightly bigger engine but still interchangeable. As you say Gilles will have to check the starter is off the earlier engines and not just ask for a Chevrolet 6 starter and end up with a 50's model.
The 6 volt starter works just fine, in fact much better, wih 12 volt. I suspect half the CMP vehicles running around have 12 volt systems with no problems. The Jeep problem of smashing Bendix gears because of the violent throw in with 12 volt does not seem to happen with the Chevrolet CMP.
Lang
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